peter
“We used to do weekly pushbike workshops for kids in Ballymun. There was no bike shop around at the time and it was a very isolated area, meaning the kids didn’t really have any other way to get around. The only freedom for them was the bicycle. It was a working class area, and those kids literally grew up in the streets, so they were very independent and much more interactive with adults. They would talk to us just like they would talk between each other. I always had a really good time with them, but at the same time you had to be careful and distance yourself from them in a way to be more professional. Because I wasn’t a teacher, they would automatically see me as a sort of father figure. There were some kids with really dark backgrounds, and had stories that you wouldn’t take home with you.”